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Donor Communications

Say it again!

Say it again! Why repetition works so well. Today I found myself hunting for an idea I’d seen for a lapsed donor appeal. My search took me to some letters I’d written years ago. I wrote the letters at my former organization. With a few years’ distance, I definitely found a few things I’d change. But […]

Filed Under: Annual Giving, Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: appeal writing, direct mail, Writing 3 Comments

Has your donor reached her limit?

Imagine how a donor feels when she’s reached her limit “No, we can’t do that. But it’s a good idea. You should definitely offer that suggestion.” “I can’t. I’ve run out of allowed suggestions.” “Oh, well, they limit them to make it easier on them.” Had enough yet? The above was a real conversation I […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications, Fundraising Tagged With: Customer service, donor retention, Fundraising 8 Comments

The Oprah Syndrome

I think of it as The Oprah Syndrome. And if you raise money for a nonprofit, I’m betting you’ve run into it, too. Picture this: you’re at a board meeting. The topic of discussion is a forecast deficit for the year. “What are we to do?”, the finance chair moans. Board members look around, hoping […]

Filed Under: Annual Giving, Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: Donors, fundraising plans, Oprah Winfrey, relationships, strategic planning, wishful thinking 14 Comments

The value of trust

Over the past few days, I’ve been thinking about the value of trust. This was spurred in part by a couple of pieces of mail I received. One looked like business mail from our garbage collectors. I opened it because you can never tell anymore what might be a bill and what might be another […]

Filed Under: Annual Giving, Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: appeal writing, donor appeals, donor retention, Nonprofit organization, trust 6 Comments

Are you caught in a dead-end?

I live on a cul-de-sac. Or as we used to say back in NJ, a dead-end. Every once in a while I watch a truck driver pull into the end of our street, hoping it will be a shortcut to another neighborhood. Then the driver has to perform truck gymnastics to get back out. It’s […]

Filed Under: Annual Giving, Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: appeal writing, jargon, Writing 2 Comments

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